Domestic violence

What is domestic violence?

Domestic violence is any act in which physical, sexual, mental, emotional or economic violence is established, as well as the attempt to do so, or the forced limitation of personal life, personal freedom and personal rights.

Who can be a victim of domestic violence?

A victim of domestic violence can be the persons who are related to the abuser, who are or were in a family relationship or living on a family basis with him/her, as well as any child who is a direct witness of such domestic violence.

Who can be a perpetrator of domestic violence?

• spouse or ex-spouse;

• a person with whom he lives or has lived on a family basis;

• a person with whom he has a child;

• parent/ mother father/, grandmother, grandfather, great-grandmother, great-grandfather;

• children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren;

• a person with whom he is related through the silver line up to the fourth degree inclusive/ brothers and sisters, nephews, uncle/aunt, first cousins/ ;

• a person with whom he is or was related by matchmaking up to the third degree including/daughter-in-law; son-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law/ ;

• guardian, custodian or foster parent;

• ascendant or descendent of the person with whom he is in de facto conjugal cohabitation;

• a person with whom the parent lived or lives on a family basis

What to do if we are a victim of domestic violence?

If the threat against us or our loved one is immediate / beating, threat of murder, arson, rape, etc. / we need to immediately file a report / complaint to the authorities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs / to the Regional Police Department; on tel. 112 /, after which the authorities take action according to the Law on the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Another option is to submit a Petition to the District Court at the current or permanent address of the injured person. This is an Application for a Domestic Violence Protection Order. The following apply to it:

• Declaration by the injured person about the violence committed;

• Available evidence: Medical certificate from a forensic doctor, from the Emergency Room, personal physician, etc.

The application is registered in a special register on the day of receipt and is assigned to a judge on the same day, who schedules a date for consideration of the case no later than 1 month.

Provided that the evidence presented and the authorities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs have established the presence of domestic violence, i.e. an immediate threat to life and health, the court issues an Order for immediate protection from domestic violence within 24 hours. This Order is valid until the case is heard in court and a Domestic Violence Protection Order or Waiver is issued. The order for immediate protection is handed over to the authorities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs / the Police / who execute it.

Term

There is a deadline for seeking help from the court. The deadline for submitting an application for the issuance of an Order for Protection from Domestic Violence is 1 month. from committing the violence.

What are the measures to protect a victim of domestic violence?

The measures to protect against domestic violence are:

• obliging the perpetrator to refrain from committing domestic violence;

• removing the perpetrator from the family home for a period determined by the court /From 3m - to 18m/;

• prohibiting the perpetrator from approaching the injured person, the home, the workplace and the places for social contacts and recreation of the injured person under the conditions and term determined by the court /From 3m - to 18m/;

• temporarily determining the place of residence of the child with the injured parent or with the parent who did not commit the violence, under conditions and for a period determined by the court, if this does not contradict the interests of the child /From 3m - to 18months/

• obliging the perpetrator of violence to attend specialized programs;

• referral of injured persons to recovery programs.

In case you have a similar problem, but you are not sure if it can be defined as domestic violence and you need help, do not be afraid and better turn to a specialist who will protect your interest in full!